I would have said that I believed in Jesus long before I actually did. I believed in Him like I believed in Napoleon. In other words, I didn’t completely reject His existence. But surely there’s more to it than that.
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rest
Awe can lower our stress and give a greater sense of peace and rest. But it’s easy to miss the awe. Christians can read their Bibles, pray, serve, and go to church either intentionally pursuing awe or acting largely oblivious to it. Here are some simple ways to cultivate awe in your relationship with God.
Stress affects all of us in different ways and it comes from different directions. But when stress is constant and not released, researchers say that it results in anxiety, depression, digestive problems, headaches, muscle tension, and heart disease. Obviously, monitoring stress and finding relief from it is something that needs to be on our radar. What’s fascinating to me is that recent research points in the same direction that the Bible has prescribed for thousands of years.
Even when we’re not physically working, it’s hard to convince our minds that it’s okay to rest. The Bible’s approach to rest is unique and it offers specific strategies to help us unwind in a world that keeps tightening its grip.
If you were to draw close to Jesus, how do you think He would change you? There was a time when I would have answered that question very differently. I figured He would rob my fun. I feared He would be controlling. I worried that He would come with guilt and pressure. Instead, what I came to experience was rest. One of the first verses of the Bible that I ever read was Jesus’ invitation to rest in Matthew 11:28-30.
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
At first, I didn’t understand how this promise worked or whether it was true. But it was one of those statements that was so bold that it was either false and put Jesus on the level of a con artist, or it was true and shattered everything I assumed about who Jesus really was. I’d like to share what I’ve come to experience of the truth of Jesus’ invitation.